6 Reasons Why Your Employees Don't Show Up for Work

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When an employee doesn't turn up to work, it can have a significant impact on your business.

These absences can affect your productivity levels and result in a loss of revenue. So, today we have a quick look at the most common reasons for unexpected employee absence, you'll be surprised how big these numbers are.

Since 2003, there has been a general drop in the number of days lost to sickness absence in the UK. However, there were increases in 2014 and 2015.

2. Work-Related Injuries and Accidents

There were 5.5 million working days lost due to workplace injuries and accidents in Britain in 2016/17. The majority of these occurred in the manufacturing and construction sectors, but injuries and accidents do happen in almost every industry.

Research from the Health and Safety Executive shows that the estimated cost of injuries and ill health from working conditions in 2015/2016 amounted to £14.9 billion.

3. Family Emergencies

A "family emergency" is a fairly vague term, and it can refer to a wide range of different situations. An employee might need to take the day off to look after their child or perhaps an elderly parent, for example.

Employees can take time off work to manage an emergency involving a parent, partner, child, grandchild or someone who depends on them for care.

4. Recurring Medical Conditions

Recurring medical conditions can also result in unexpected absences from your organisation, we are talking about conditions such as asthma, diabetes and bronchitis.

Older workers - people aged 65 and over - experience the highest rates of sickness absense in the UK, according to research from the Office for National Statistics. Smokers, part-time workers and workers living in Scotland and Wales are also more likely to take time off work due to sickness.

5. Stress

Stress and anxiety are affecting more employees than ever before, resulting in lots of time off work.

The average employee in the UK takes seven days off sick every year, and 40 percent of all absences are due to mental health-related problems, according to the Sainsbury Centre for Mental Health.

6. Your Employee is Just Faking It

Unfortunately twenty-eight percent of employees have called in sick to work even when there's nothing wrong with them, according to one study. Thirty percent of these employees didn't feel like going to work, 29 percent wanted to relax at home, and 19 percent just wanted to sleep.

Not all employees get away with faking a sickie though. An increasing amount of employers check to see if an employee is telling the truth about their illness, and 18 percent of workers have ended up getting the chop for lying about being sick.

These are just six of the reasons why an employee might take time off work. Perhaps the question for next time is what can you do to reduce them in your business, or how to manage your resources better so that the impact is minimised.